I had a right dose of an evening. I was off at the beach with a few people and Lexi was having a blast. A couple had come along with their dog and let it off to play with my girl until a woman came along screaming and shouting. The couple got their dog and hot tailed it away but I reckon she must have thrown something at lexi because she ran away and wouldn't come back. Had to bring her right off to the end of the beach. While I was there the woman kept screaming abuse.

Lexi wouldn't come near me at all. She can be a bit bratty occasionally (she is an adolescent) when it comes to recall but she was whining and her head was down like she was scared so I tried to play with her to relax her. She wasn't even playing.

So the torrent of abuse kept happening and I tried to be rational me and be nice. The woman caught a stick and threw it down at me from a height. I still kept on trying to be nice and asked her did something happen to my dog because she was incredibly spooked, whining and limping but she kept screaming at me and saying she done nothing and I am bold and she shoved her phone in my face took my photo and said she was reporting me to the cops.

After about 10 minutes of non stop abuse Lexi darted past me on the slipway to the beach and ran off up the road. I had to get in the car and drive after her all the time the woman was still screaming at me.

Eventually managed to catch Lex but she was jumpy when I touched her. At this stage I got cross and drove back down to the beach and pulled up by the woman. I pulled out my phone and snapped her back and shouted...... I'm reporting you for abuse and throwing something at me.

In an absolute state now because my sweet princess is a german shepherd and here they are meant to be muzzled at all times. Even if they are in the car and not in contact with other people. The woman took my reg so I'm nearly guaranteed that she will report it to the cops.

I've been working hard with my girl to have her sweet natured and well behaved around people because I eventually want to try train her with the search and rescue team because her breed are brilliant at that. She has the stamina and the intelligence. I'm going to be absolutely gutted if she is taken off of me and destroyed.

Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2011 11:51 amPosts: 6025Location: United States of New England

OH MY GOD!!! what is wrong with that woman?!?!?!?

what a crazy person. that sounds like an awful experience. im so sorry you went through that.the whole breed law thing is just crazy. i have friends who have pitbulls that are so docile and sweet their 5 year old can ride around on them like horses and tug at their ears. my own dog is a lab mix and looks like your quintessential bomb proof family dog but i wont allow him near children because he is very reactive and a tad unpredictable so it's just ridiculous to make laws based on breeds.

i hope everything works out ok. that woman sounds like a complete nutjob. poor Lexi :-(do you know if the woman threw something at her???

Not sure if she threw something at her and hit or anything but she is definitely spooked.

I am 100% sure she threw a stick at me though. And I was with people who saw how insane she was and saw how nice I was trying to be to her. They even said out loud enough for her to me.... don't bother being nice to her she's insane.

I was in floods of tears at the beach. I'm distraught now at the possibility that she could be taken off me because really is the sweetest dog ever. Naughty at times but sweet. The worst she will do is not come back when she is called because she is having too much fun and wants to play. Usually if she senses a person is nervous of her or she has never met the person before she will come back to me. But the more this woman screamed and shouted the more scared she got and ran further away.

Taking a picture of your face isn't going to prove anything to the police even if she does report you. I'm sure they'll have more important things to worry about on New Years Eve than this anyway. It's also awful that she threw things at you and possibly at Lexi.

Having said that, maybe the woman had been bitten recently, which might explain her behaviour a little, especially if it looked to her as if you couldn't get control over the dog? My friend was badly bitten a few years ago and she is markedly afraid of dogs now, even though she always used to love them before.

_________________"Like a wonky bourbon stonehenge. But in a good way." - Disappearing Ink

That's why I took Lexi away to the corner of the beach away from her incase she was scared. The people I was with kept trying to tell her that the dog is completely harmless. She kept us cornered so I couldn't even get up to the car to try coax lexi into it. There was no other way I could go but back down to the beach and the tide was coming in really fast so I was at risk for getting trapped down there.

It was when I had to move back up nearer to the drop from the car park to the beach that she threw the stick at me and kept shouting down abuse over the wall. It was a 30foot drop so there wasn't a hope of the dog getting near her and she was the only one that had the option of walking back up the road away from the beach. We were trapped down there.

What does the law actually say in terms of repurcussions? We have a leash law here but, if the dog wasn't threatening anyone, the worst that would happen would be a citation and fine. And I don't think the cops here would even be likely to do anything more than give a warning even if they saw it happening firsthand. My sister's dogs were attacked by the neighbors' dog; both her husband and one of her dogs required stitches. Even then, the owners had the choice of relinquishing the dog or facing misdemeanor prosecution (which probably would have just cost them a lot of money.) If some crazy shrieking lady called the cops here to say she saw a dog off leash the night before they'd probably say they were sorry but it wasn't their problem. She doesn't have any proof of anything so if they do talk to you, hopefully as long as you sound calm and sane compared to her, they will drop it. You don't have to lie to them, but you don't have to admit anything either. If this lady is rational enough to weigh the situation, she'll know better than to call them anyway, seeing as how she assaulted you!

She didn't seem one bit rational so I wouldn't be surprised if she did call them. Here, because of her breed, if the cops or the dog warden see her out without a muzzle they can euthanise her. I don't think they can just take someones word on it.

Since she did assault us and scream my dog running away just goes to show that she is in not aggressive.

I had a problem with the last dog I had. He bit me real bad and I couldn't risk him biting someone else. If he had turned on someone after he had bit me so bad then I would have been screwed. That and I was petrified of him after. Luckily, he is now in the most fantastic home possible with the vet that I used to take him too.

Damn..... I nearly want the cops to show up so I can say "great, if you have her name and contact details then I want to make a formal complaint for intimidation and assault."

I could probably make something on the fact that she basically had us trapped on the beach and prevented me from getting to my car too.

Joined: Wed Oct 20, 2010 1:31 pmPosts: 1544Location: In the land of Druids and Moonrakers

If Lexi didn't bite anyone, or traumatise any livestock, then not being muzzled on the beach will only be a reprimand or a fine. Seriously, the Garda are far too busy to bother tracking you down through your car registration for this. And if they did, you'd just say that you had the muzzle with you, but you had briefly taken it off to do obedience training/retrieval training with her, and couldn't get it back on because the woman was stopping you getting to your dog. Please don't worry.

Oh no, DaisyChain! I'm so sorry that happened to you and Lexi. She sounds like a lovely sweet tempered dog who didn't deserve a word of the abuse. I hope nothing comes of it. (Based on my interactions w/people of that sort, it's usually immediate abuse but if they threaten to call the police, there's (almost?) never any follow up)

_________________"Vegan to me means Oreos for breakfast." -Poopiebitch"tl;dr: I quit working to drink beer paid for with gift cards" erikasoyf*cker

It's crazy woman's word against yours, and she can't prove anything. If she comes across as crazy to the police and you come across as calm and rational they may more easily trust your side of the story than hers. Also, if she is a known crazy then the police may have dealt with her before and may not put much stock in her complaint.

If Lexi didn't bite anyone, or traumatise any livestock, then not being muzzled on the beach will only be a reprimand or a fine. Seriously, the Garda are far too busy to bother tracking you down through your car registration for this. And if they did, you'd just say that you had the muzzle with you, but you had briefly taken it off to do obedience training/retrieval training with her, and couldn't get it back on because the woman was stopping you getting to your dog. Please don't worry.

Thanks. It means a lot to have her unmuzzled because I eventually want to try get her onto the training programme for search and rescue. This evening I actually had her doing work on following through on a task while ignoring other dogs and people that were around by doing a big game with her. Even managed to get her to the stage where she was standing still watching me and ignoring a person and their dog that was going around. Two dogs tried to join in and she even ignored them. Which is incredible for her because I've had big problems with her getting distracted easy and wanting to play with every dog in the world.

Also on walks I get her to carry a stick most of the time. It's really hilarious when she leaves it down and walks away because when I say "Go get your stick" she will run back to find it. As much as I give out about her she is an angel.

Hopefully if the cops call they will appreciate my efforts in trying to get her ready for an important job and that they will realise it is important for her to be off the muzzle and leash now so that she will have a better chance of succeeding at getting accepted into the programme.

Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2011 11:51 amPosts: 6025Location: United States of New England

i think everyone is making a really good point that this crazy lady cant prove anything other than she took a picture of you.Lexi didnt bite or scratch or harm anyone or anything.and she sounds like a nut job so the police might just be like "yyyyyeah ok we'll be looking right into that"

if on the off chance they do show up because she lodged a complaint being rational and calm will probably win your case in the end.

i hope this doesnt set your training back with Lexi. i have one super reactive dog and one who is timid/fearful so i know how much these set backs hurt.

Thanks. She can be so skittish but that's a trait of the GSH's from the showbreed background. It took me months to get her ok around other dogs and even longer to be ok around other people. She used to be really scared of other people and would only leave kids near her, then after a while she would leave women near her. It is only the past month that she will leave strangers pet her. The next door neighbours dog is constantly snapping at her and she doesn't even react to it.

In actual fact she has been known to trot up to strangers in the local woods and try go home with them the last few weeks. Luckily 99% of the people I meet are fine once they know she is a big love bug and about 75% of those people have previous experience with GSH's and know they are more naughty than dangerous.

She has started hugging me again the past 30 mins! The relief! 5 hours without hugs was a hell of a long time.